A few words about a great dog

This was originally going to be the first post in a blog/site dedicated to Lexie, the Rhodesian Ridgeback mix that shared our lives and our home for more than 13 years. Sadly, Lexie left us in January of 2007. Since Lexie most definitely deserves at least one page of tribute in cyberspace, here it is (slightly repackaged). We miss you, you crazy dog!


November 1993 - On the shore of Huntington Bay.

Having decided that fish are cool, Irene and I had set up a small 5 gallon tank in our little beach house. Nothing major, just a few nifty little fishies for us to look at now and then. It was Thanksgiving weekend when we took a trip to a local pet shop to get a few more fish and maybe some cool props to put in the tank. Seems harmless enough, right?

This particular pet store did not sell dogs (nor should you patronize any pet store that does!), but that didn't matter on this particular Friday. The girl at the counter had adopted a puppy a few days earlier. She knew pretty quickly by the size of her ears and paws that this dog was going to be much larger than her small apartment could really handle. So, there in the corner by the register, up for adoption, was this 10-12 week old Rhodesian Ridgeback puppy lounging happily on some soft blankets in her crate. I noticed her when we walked in, but didn't really give it a second thought since up to that point Irene was pretty adamant about not wanting a dog.

As planned, I was browsing down the "fish stuff" aisle. Little did I know that Irene was hanging out with the puppy - petting, playing and generally making the sounds one tends to make at a baby of any species. As I moved on past the plastic fishtank castles I was confronted by the image of my wife sitting on the floor of the pet shop with this dog in her lap. As soon as I saw them together, I knew that this pup was probably coming home with us. I was right. My wife, heretofore completely opposed to having a dog, was asking me if we could take her home. Who was I to argue? I love dogs, and she certainly was cute.

We loaded up on the stuff that new dog owners tend to load up on, and next thing I know my two-seater sports car was headed back home one occupant (and four legs) over its design capacity.

On the way home, we made a stop in Northport where our new "kid" got to romp around a bit on her leash and listen to everyone talk about how cute she was (hey, pretty much all puppies are cute). As we drove the rest of the way home, we discussed dog names. The girl in the pet shop was calling her Jessie, but we had her pegged as a "Holly". Since Irene didn't think it was right to name the dog after one of her childhood friends, we decided on Ilexa (Ilex being the latin name for the holly plant), which immediately became "Lexie".

The rest, as they say, is history. Well, at least its history in our house.

Oh, and the fish? We never did get any more.